The school grounds were more attractive than in the fall. The garden club worked under the direction of the botany teacher. First came the forsythia, in welcome yellow delicacy all over the city, and here and there about the grounds. Then other flowers came on, with magnolia and Japanese cherry trees in blossom, and in their time gay tulips, and purple iris lining some of the walks. With the windows of class rooms, study halls and library open, the pupils and teachers could hear the songs of birds, more free than they were, to be sure, but with their daily bread and nesting entailing much hunting and work on the part of the little creatures. Betty never failed to visit a part of the grounds devoted to wild flowers, including May-apples and jack-in-the-pulpit.
She was occasionally out at the Gwynne place, when Carolyn carried her off in a car which sometimes came for her, or accompanied her as far as the street car went, to take the rest of the way in a strolling hike, enlivened with much discourse, after the manner of girls. They saw very little of the boys, by the way, for baseball and other active, outdoor affairs engaged their attention; but the girls, with so many of their own, did not notice it. Of these girl activities, Color Day, the annual track meet of the girls was of importance.
This was held on the last of April in the stadium and the competition was between classes. The freshmen girls were quite excited over it, for they had some very athletic girls in their various teams this year, and while they did not expect to win the meet they expected to make a good showing. Both Betty and Carolyn were in this, though Betty was not allowed to do competitive running. But there was the throwing, baseball and hurl-ball, and some other events. Numbers told for your class, it seemed. And when it finally came off it was great fun, Betty reported.
“You ought to have been there, Mother!” she cried when she came home. “You simply must come more next year. We’ll get somebody to stay with Amy Lou, though she would think anything like this just wonderful, wouldn’t you, Amy Lou?”
“Yes, Betty. Why can’t I go?”
“You can next time. You ought to have seen the girls run and jump over the hurdles and everything! We had a tug of war and the freshmen won that. Then one of our freshman girls made a brand-new record in the sixty-yard hurdles. I’ve forgotten just what it was, but it beat last year’s record just a little bit.
“I didn’t do so badly in the throwing, Mother, but I didn’t take first place by any means; and the relay in overhead basketball was great!”
“It seems to me that you make work of your playing, Betty.”
“Yes, I suppose we do. But isn’t it better to have athletics watched over and amounting to something?”
“I suppose it is, unless you push it too far for your health.”